Brazilian crypto brokerage firm M Intermediação e Prestação de Serviço has won a lawsuit against Banco Bradesco, a retail bank in the country, which was filed after the suspension of the account of the crypto firm by the bank.
According to the Official Gazette of the State of São Paulo, the crypto company was accepting deposits from clients both in Bitcoin and fiat from its clients to offer trading services, along with similar withdrawal process. The firm was using an account with Banco Bradesco to provide fiat deposit and withdrawal services.
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However, in 2018, the bank blocked the brokerage’s account, citing unusual activity. Per the bank, it was trying to prevent any fraud committed using its accounts.
The Brazilian court, however, did not find any substantial evidence against the bank’s decision for blocking the brokerage’s current account and ordered the bank to reopen it immediately.
“There is no documentary evidence on the unusual movements that gave rise to the block,” the judge ruled.
Banks’ hostility towards crypto businesses
Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin filed a similar lawsuit against Spanish bank Santander for abruptly closing its account. The court, however, ruled in favor of the crypto exchange and the bank’s claims even ruled out in an appeal hearing.
Brazil’s move towards cryptocurrency regulation took a step closer in May after the country’s parliament established a commission to consider the matter. In June, the tax authorities in the country brought in a new system to tackle the crypto tax evasion in the country. The rules will come into effect on September 2019 and will allow the authorities to collect data from crypto trading intermediaries like brokerages and exchanges.
Meanwhile, Banco BTG Pactual, an investment bank in Brazil, is going to launch a $1 billion securities token offering (STO) for its real estate-backed ReitBZ token.